| I agree with kmarch to understand what the chemicals do.
Nitrogen is necessary for growth.
High phosphorus I think is useless. It will promote blooms in a medium that is deficient in phosphorus. It will also kill beneficial microbes in the medium. This is not too important in soil where new microbes can develop but I feel it is detrimental to orchids. Phosphorus also takes as much as 5 years to break down after application depending on the source of the Phosphorus.
I use only balanced fertilizers. It also makes it more consistent to not try to change depending the the month, when really you would have to change on the growing pattern that can be off months for year to year. Many fall orchids did not bloom this year until late winter.
NancyG noticed the immediate spurt with the use of Worm Tea and its less obvious effect afterward. The medium was without beneficial microbes at the first application and it was like turning on the food bucket. The plant now had the microbes necessary to use the food in the medium. Plants can not absorb fertilizers, they require beneficial microbes to convert the fertilizer into a form the plant can absorb. After the first big jump in growth the plant can absorb the nutrient at a more relaxed rate and the growth is not as noticeable but it is still significant over time.
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jerry  |